Chapter 211: Visiting a relative (asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)
"boom!"
A long sword covered with frost was suddenly thrown out and pierced directly into the standing target, blowing the iron-bound puppet to pieces.
Zhao Duan reached out, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and gently swung it in a sword flower.
Standing on the small "martial arts arena" in my own courtyard, I gazed upon the rising sun in the east in the late summer morning and exhaled deeply:
"Something."
In the past two days, all his attention has been focused on digesting the empress's teaching content.
In my mind, I review and train again and again.
During the day, he went to the yamen, but did not handle cases. Instead, he took turns to spar with the detectives from various gangs and hone his skills in actual combat with this group of martial artists with superb martial arts skills.
Rapid progress.
If it weren't for the huge gap between the realm of Supervisor Ma Yan and him, Zhao Duan would have wanted to find his cheap senior brother to serve as a sparring partner.
In actual combat, the weaknesses that the Empress had pointed out in him were gradually made up for, and his strengths were constantly developed.
"I feel incredibly strong right now, and I desperately need an enemy to kill me."
Zhao Duan threw the scabbard to a servant on the sidelines, and happily realized one of the three major illusions in life: "I can fight back."
"Dalang, let me wipe your sweat."
The maid named Miantao who was standing beside the stepmother came up attentively, holding a wet towel in her hand.
This maidservant is not very pretty, but she has a plump figure and is smart and capable.
The Zhao family was a small household with only a few maids and servants.
Not long ago, Zhao Duan hired a few more people to share the pressure, and Mian Tao was promoted to "big maid" on the spot and got the opportunity to serve Dalang.
"I'll do it myself." Zhao Duan, who was self-reliant, said casually:
"Aren't you going to help prepare?"
The maid Miantao's face admires:
"Da Lang has moved all the cooks from Dingfeng Tower back home, so there's no need to prepare more. Madam is dressing and the young lady is accompanying her, so there's no need for a maid."
What the two of them were talking about was that Eugene Hua's family would come to their house to entertain the guests at noon today.
Yes, not long after the family letter was delivered, the You family arrived in the capital.
After settling in, he handed in a visiting card and agreed to visit relatives today.
In fact, two hours after the You family entered the city, Zhao Duan had already learned of the whereabouts of this group of people through the channels of the imperial court.
With his current status and position, it would only take a word for him to secretly order the military officer at the city gate to deliver a message after he entered the city.
In addition, Zhao Duan instructed his men to briefly investigate the basic situation of this group of "relatives":
As the stepmother said, the people who came this time were her second uncle and his family.
The leader was You Zhande, the head of the You family branch in Xipingdao.
According to the information, this person was actually a high-level warrior... This surprised him a little.
But considering that all families in various parts of the Dayu Dynasty were able to gain a stable foothold, they either had the support of officials.
Or, if it has the word "cultivation" in its name, it would not be surprising that it is considered a half-powerful force in the martial arts world.
Of course, You Zhande is not just a warrior. The main industry of the You family is still the caravan.
That is, relying on geographical advantages, they traded goods between the Western Regions and Dayu.
The people of Xipingdao are tough and their character is a mixture of the underworld and business atmosphere.
Because of the relationship with the caravan, they often dealt with the border troops in the western corridor of the imperial court, which led to the later promise of Eugenia to the soldiers returning to the imperial court.
However, this time when he went to Beijing, You Zhande did not bring many people with him.
Apart from a few guards from the clan, the only people he was close to were his wife and youngest son.
According to seniority, Eugene Hua should call them aunt and cousin.
In addition, intelligence showed that the family also met a nobleman from a prominent family on the way, who was also from Xiping Road.
However, because he was a "street kid", his subordinates only conducted a simple investigation and had no detailed information, so Zhao Duan didn't care.
Zhao Duan ordered people to investigate, but he had no other intentions, he just wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.
Although according to his thoughts, it would be considered merciful not to retaliate against such a bad relative.
But since his stepmother cared about family ties, Zhao Duan also gave Eugene enough face.
In preparation for this reception, he specially ordered the entire kitchen staff of a nearby restaurant to be called to his home to prepare the lunch.
The maid immediately felt that Dalang was really capable.
"Okay, I don't need anyone to wait on me. You can go and look after the cooks. Oh, and are the utensils for the guests ready?"
"Well, the last time the Dong family came to apologize, they gave us a set of valuable utensils, which is more than enough."
The maid spoke quickly, raised her head and said:
"If you ask me, considering your current status, Dalang, you didn't go to the government office, but stayed at home to receive them personally today. This is already a great blessing for them."
There was already a hint of the demeanor of a maidservant in her speech and conversation.
Zhao Duan smiled and shook his head, saying meaningfully:
"Outsiders may not recognize my status, and may even look down on me in their hearts."
Mian Tao said anxiously:
"How is that possible? Who in the capital doesn't know how powerful Dalang is?"
…
…
On the other hand, You Zhande and his family got up late this morning.
Xiping Road is a long way from the capital and it is difficult to reach it.
You Zhande was fine as he had martial arts skills, but his pampered wife and spoiled little son were exhausted.
In addition, the glamorous world of the capital is so attractive that the woman, who is used to dressing up with jewels and precious stones, finally comes to the capital once. She drags her son around all day and doesn't care about visiting relatives at all.
I got back to the inn late last night, and I got up lazily in the morning, yawning and getting ready slowly.
I am more serious about makeup than before.
You Zhande urged several times.
Finally, around noon, the family got on a car and headed towards Zhao's house.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! You, as an uncle, are so attentive, but your niece is also ignorant of respect and inferiority. She didn't come to pay her respects, but instead asked us, the elders, to come to her house."
Inside the car.
The middle-aged woman is already old and even with careful maintenance, she still has wrinkles on her neck and looks weird.
Her head, neck, and hands were all covered with jewelry, and she was holding a mirror in her hand.
The head of the You family, who had a well-proportioned figure, an aura of wealth and a steady gaze, shook his head and warned:
"This is the capital, not Xiping. I've asked people to investigate these days, and Zhao Duan, judging by his reputation, is not a good person."
The woman curled her lips and said:
"I know. Isn't he just a tyrant who rose to power overnight and acted arrogantly? With the habits of a nouveau riche, how can he be a good relative?"
You Zhande said with a stern face:
"It's people like this who are young and arrogant that are difficult to deal with. Besides, I heard that this person is probably not simple. It seems that he was arrested and taken to the Dali Temple recently, and then released, so he has been keeping a low profile. Before that, he was also arrogant in front of the officials."
Nowadays, Zhao Duan’s impression in the eyes of outsiders is layered.
Only a small group of people in the court knew him best, were aware of the many important things he had done, and understood his position in the empress's heart.
Basically limited to the top circles:
Yuan Li, Li Yanfu, Dong Xuan...those few top bosses.
Li Yanfu didn't know much.
Further out, there are the impressions of him from many officials and scholars in the imperial court.
It is much weaker. Whether it is fighting Pei Kaizhi, Zhou Cheng, the princess... or the recent Xiuwenguan and the young cabinet minister, in fact, in the officialdom, they are just rumors based on hearsay.
Like the recent fight between the young cabinet ministers... almost no one knows that he is the mastermind behind the scenes.
At most I hear some, such as:
There are rumors that "Zhao Yanwang may be behind this matter."
Most people also imagine that Zhao Duan is just a cruel official working for bigwigs.
It's the role of a chess piece.
And going further out, it leaves the official circle above the fifth rank.
Going down, some low-ranking officials and ordinary people in the capital knew even less information.
My impression of Zhao Duan still remains that he's a dandy, overbearing gigolo who's sold his cattle to get ahead...
To put it bluntly, it’s just three words:
Information gap!
So, even though Zhao Duan thrived in the circle of top bosses, for the majority of the middle and lower classes...
The judgment of Zhao Duan’s current energy and power is completely outdated!
You Zhande might be considered a figure in Xiping Road.
But after arriving in Beijing, the network of contacts I could access in a short period of time was not enough at all.
With his status, the highest-ranking official he could barely get in touch with was probably only the county magistrate...
Therefore, You Zhande greatly underestimated his niece's "stepson".
But even so, the official identity of "Zhao Ya Ji Si" alone was enough to make him take it seriously.
"In short, even if they relied on their looks to gain a position, they were still the emperor. The Zhao family might be just ants in the eyes of the high officials in the court of Dayu, but compared to our You family, they are big shots."
You Zhande said to his wife in a serious tone:
"Remember, we're here to build relationships.
If you don't want to ruin things, just put away your attitude and be polite when you get to the Zhao family, especially to my niece. Don't be like that before.
Jinhua is a sentimental person. As long as we can capture her, why should we be afraid that Zhao Duan will not help?
Now that the man of the Zhao family is dead, Jinhua is the mistress of the Zhao family. No matter how arrogant Zhao Duan is outside, he should still listen to his elders when he returns home."
The jeweled woman fiddled with her fingers and said indifferently:
"I know. I've been saying this for a long time."
beside.
The fat, greasy-faced boy muttered:
"I don't know what the Zhao family is like, and whether they have the same grandeur as ours."
Soon, the spoiled young master of the You family, named You Luer, got the answer.
When the carriage stopped, they saw that the area was remote and the Zhao family's house was just an ordinary one.
The obese boy couldn't help but feel disappointed and said with disdain:
"Dad, are we in the right place? That's it? Didn't you say you were a big shot? How come you're not as good as our family?"
The mean woman also frowned, thinking that the rumors might be exaggerated.
If Zhao Duan was very favored and was really a big shot, why would he live in such an ordinary house?
Come to think of it, even if the current empress has a lover, there must be more than one, and the Zhao family may be just one of them.
But he still warned his son not to talk nonsense.
You Zhande was also silently weighing the matter, thinking about the rumor that Zhao Duan was tried by the Dali Temple.
With complicated thoughts in their minds, the family went forward and knocked on the door, carrying several gifts brought out by the servants.
Not long.
The old steward of the Zhao family came out to greet him personally and said warmly:
"Madam and Master are already waiting. Please follow me."
This old servant... doesn't follow the rules and has no respect for hierarchy... The whole family's brows were getting deeper and deeper.
When you reach the inner hall, you will see the door.
Eugene Hua, her mother and daughter, and a tall and handsome young man were waiting.
…
Asking for a guaranteed monthly ticket for July
(End of this chapter)
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